January
Comments 2018

There have been
numerous protests across India against rape and sexual violence in
eight-month-old Indian girl is recovering in hospital after she was
raped at her home in Delhi, the latest such case in a country
notorious for high levels of sexual violence.

The girl's
parents rushed her to hospital after discovering her bed covered in
blood when they returned from work on Sunday.

She later
underwent a three-hour operation for her injuries.

The Press Trust
of India said the girl's 27-year-old cousin had been arrested and
charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,
meaning he could face a life sentence.

A UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child in 2014 said one in three rape victims
in India was a minor.

It has
expressed alarm over the widespread sexual abuse of
children.Nearly 11,000
cases of child rape were reported in India in 2015, according to
the National Crime Records Bureau's latest figures.

It said three
children were raped every day in Delhi alone.

The city hit
global headlines in 2012 when several men raped a young female
student who later died from her injuries.

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 09:07 PM

1/6…Judges
dealing with cases of potential child sex abuse and serious mental
health issues have expressed their deep frustration with the lack
of appropriate facilities for vulnerable children in need of the
State’s care….

“The lack of
planning continues, substantial resources are invested into giving
the children the appropriate care they need in secure care and
[then] the potential is nearly ripped out from under their feet at
the lack of onward placement, and the level of uncertainty is
causing undue stress to these children,” the judge said in one
case.In another, the
judge said there had to be “a recognition there is a failure to
deal with this”.

She added:
“This is not the first time a judge has said this over the years.
“Over the last 25 years it is constant and children with a
particular presentation have no facilities in this State to meet
their needs, resources are an issue, a bespoke solution for every
child is perhaps not available.”

The 16 reports
from the CCLRP feature allegations of child sex abuse including one
case involving abuse by multiple people including the children’s
parents and lack of adequate services for severely disturbed and
mentally ill teenagers.

Of the 16
reports, eight track High Court cases that come before that court
repeatedly.

“They all
concern the attempts of guardians ad litem, parents and foster
parents to obtain appropriate placements and services for children
and young people with severe psychological and psychiatric needs,”
said CCLRP.

“In many
instances such cases come back before the court repeatedly over
many months, and the reports show the frustration of the judge
hearing them as she attempts to order the CFA to find
solutions.”

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 09:04 PM

2/6...It did
point out that the High Court also heard of good outcomes for
children who received appropriate treatment including one case of a
very disturbed boy who had made a number of suicide
attempts.

He was sent to
a special unit in Britain. After four months there was great
improvement and after he turned 18 he came home to a
privately-funded placement in an adult psychiatric unit and the
court heard he was doing extremely well.

CCLRP attended
a number of cases in the District Court, all of which involved
allegations of child sexual abuse.

“When such
allegations are made legal, issues concerning the admission of
hearsay evidence from children and access to Garda interviews made
for the purposes of a criminal investigation often arise,” it
said.

“Difficulties
in accessing specialist assessments of the children also
arise.”

Dr Carol
Coulter, CCLRP director, said she hoped the lengthy reports would
assist professionals and policy-makers in understanding the
difficulties they throw up, “particularly the lack of a national
system for the robust diagnosis of child sexual abuse, the lack of
co-operation between the criminal justice system, and the child
protection system and the need for timely therapeutic support for
the victims”.

“The issue of
adequate facilities and therapy for disturbed young people has
preoccupied the High Court for years,” she said.

“Week after
week the Child Care Law Reporting Project hears frustrated judges
pressurise the Child and Family Agency to find suitable placements
and appropriate treatment for these children.

The court cases
are consuming a lot of resources that would be better spent on
developing long-term solutions.”

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 08:59 PM

3/6..Parents
named among sex abusers...

Two young
children were taken into care under a voluntary arrangement in June
2014 on the grounds of neglect linked to their parents’ misuse of
alcohol.

However, in
December 2015, 18 months after coming into care, the children
disclosed sexual abuse against 11 named people, including their
parents, two male relatives, a female relative, three teen girls
and two other men.

They also
alleged another female relative was there when they were abused.
Six months later, as a result of these disclosures, the couple’s
newborn baby was taken into care under an emergency care order.
Gardaí began an investigation and a specialist Garda child sex
abuse interviewer questioned the children for the purposes of a
criminal case.

The Child and
Family Agency sought the DVDs of the interviews, but initially this
was resisted by the Gardaí on the basis it could prejudice the
criminal case. Eventually, the DVDs were released to the agency
following a court order.

The agency made
an application to the court for the children’s evidence to be given
indirectly, as hearsay evidence, through playing the DVDs of the
Garda interviews, and through evidence from social workers and the
foster carers of what the children had said.

This was
granted by the judge.

In the DVDs,
the two children, both of primary school age, described in detail
being forced to perform oral sex on the adults and being raped by
some of them. They also gave detailed physical descriptions of all
the adults involved.

The parents
denied there had been any physical or sexual abuse of the
children.

The case
resumes later this year.

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 08:56 PM

4/6...Behaviour too serious
for secure care

A teenager,
whose behaviour was known to be potentially dangerous to others,
was refused admittance into secure care detention because the
Special Care Committee found his behaviour to be too serious for
secure care.

The boy was
living in a non-secure residential placement without any
therapeutic input despite immediate and long-term psychological and
psychiatric therapy being recommended by the psychologist who
assessed him three times in 2017.

Senior counsel
for the guardian ad litem told the High Court that the case
highlighted the unsuitable nature of secure care premises in risky
situations.

Two weeks later
in the High Court, the judge heard that two of three suggested
placements in England had been found unsuitable and that the CFA
might have to look to other jurisdictions.

The US was
mooted.

The boy was
stabilised but did not appear to be returning to his open
residential unit within his curfew hours and was still using drugs.
Therefore, there were still concerns about his wellbeing and that
of society in general.

Senior counsel
for the CFA assured the court the matter was being
progressed.Counsel
informed the judge that a unit had been created within the auspices
of the CFA for children with the harmful behaviours in question and
a referral to this unit would be looked at.

The District
Court, where parallel proceedings were being heard, was told that
the unit for children with these harmful behaviours had said that A
did not meet its criteria due to age.

When the case
returned in January it had still not been resolved and the boy was
in a non-secure placement.

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 08:54 PM

5/6...Fostered teens beaten
and bullied...

Dublin District
Court heard that two teenage boys in foster care were being
regularly subjected to beatings, bullying, and harassment and were
threatened with having their throats cut or being shot by people in
the community.

They were in
the care of a close relative.

The situation
was described to the judge during a hearing of a review of the
after-care plan for the older boy, A.

The judge heard
how numerous efforts had been made by the CFA and the foster carer
with both Council X, where the family lived, and with Council Y, a
neighbouring county where the boys attended school, to have the
family rehoused, but with no success.

Both councils
had been summoned to attend court and Council X had attended and
engaged, but Council Y had not.

All the
agencies and the foster carer agreed that it wasn’t possible to
finalise A’s after-care plans unless the foster carer could move
out of the area with him and his brother.

Both the boys’
social worker and guardian ad litem gave evidence of the family’s
urgent need for rehousing.

Council Y
offered a house that was uninhabitable and when that was refused,
had put the family on the bottom of the housing list.

The older boy’s
GP had reported that A’s life was at risk and recommended that the
foster carer should move out of the area due to the bullying and
harassment.

The foster
carer gave evidence that A and B were afraid to go to the shops or
leave their front door due to fears of bullying, harassment and
threats.

She described
how she had to drive both boys around in the middle of the night to
help them sleep.

The judge
directed that the CFA should issue a further witness summons to the
named official in Council Y.

ANON Jan
29th, 2018 @ 08:51 PM

6/6....Children’s years in
and out of courts…

Following
allegations of sex abuse by two children, referred to as A and B,
it took 10 months before they were seen by a child sex abuse unit
and a year and a half before one of them was interviewed by
gardaí.

While the
children later made partial retractions, there was no finding as to
whether or not the allegations were credible and during the court
proceedings, two expert witnesses expressed concerns about the
quality of the interviews carried out with the
children.

A and B were in
care for three years and then returned home.

Their younger
siblings C and D, were put into foster care under a voluntary
arrangement between the parents and the Child and Family
Agency.

The CFA applied
to the District Court to have the children taken into care but
after 15 months withdrew the application, so no judicial
determination was made on any of the issues that
arose.

A and B had
alleged that C and D had been sexually abused by their parents and
the younger children were taken into voluntary care. In May 2016,
the CFA sought to withdraw its application for the care orders for
C and D, as it was attempting to reunify the family.

That was
challenged in the High Court and the case continued.In December
2016 an expert gave evidence to the court about the Signs of Safety
model for protecting children within the family. In July 2017
during the Care Order hearing, the CFA secured an adjournment until
October 2017 to facilitate the reunification.

One child
returned to live with the parents in August 2017 and the other was
returned home in late 2017 following the agreement of the parents
to work with the Signs of Safety programme.

ANON Jan
26th, 2018 @ 03:42 PM

1,100
reports of suspected abuse since mandatory reporting…

Just over 1,100
reports of suspected child abuse have been made in the first six
weeks of mandatory reporting well below the figures that were
expected.

Mandatory
reporting of child-abuse concerns came into force on December
11.

There had been
concerns that the new system would place serious pressure on
child-protection services and would only exacerbate and lengthen
social-work waiting lists.

Tusla had
estimated that mandatory reporting would result in between 22,000
and 65,000 additional reports each year.

Speaking in the
Seanad, Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone said Tusla has put
structures and processes in place ahead of the rollout of mandatory
reporting.

She said online
training around reporting was also put in place.

“Taking all of
these factors into account, there was no doubt in my mind that we
were never more ready to take this hugely important step,” said Ms
Zappone.

“We are now six
weeks into mandatory reporting and yesterday I received an update
from Tusla. The figures are preliminary and I want to underline
that.

“However, the
leadership of Tusla say that just over 1,100 mandated reports have
been received.

“Even with the
health warning that the figures are preliminary, it is clear that
the anticipated spike has not yet happened.

“Thankfully the
negative impact on children’s services has also not
materialised.”

Ms Zappone said
there is no room for complacency and has asked her officials for
constant updates on the figures so her department can respond to
any increases in reporting.

However, as far
back as August 2016, when a regime of mandatory reporting was being
developed Tusla chief executive Fred McBride wrote to the
Department of Children to raise his concerns around the new
system.

He told it: “I
have serious concerns regarding the commencement of the mandatory
reporting aspect of the Children First Act.

“Evidence from
other jurisdictions indicates that mandatory reporting could
increase referrals to the agency by 150%.”

Under the new
system professionals who deal with children, including teachers,
nurses, and Gardaí, are required to report any suspicions of child
abuse to Tusla.

Those making
mandated reports must do so in writing.

Tusla has an
online portal in place for the receipt of these mandated reports
which allows people to register and submit any concerns
directly.

ANON Jan
26th, 2018 @ 03:35 PM

Sex abuse
survivors 'must be heard' for report recommendations…

Victims of
historical sexual abuse have appealed to the Head of the Civil
Service to listen to survivors as he moves to implement the
recommendations of the Hart Report.

David Sterling
told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee yesterday that draft
legislation to put the recommendations into action will be ready by
the summer.

If the Stormont
Executive is not up and running by then, he said, he would ask the
Secretary of State to take the issue to Westminster.

However,
victims have given a mixed response to the announcement, reminding
Mr Sterling not everyone was happy with just how far the
recommendations went.

Jon McCourt,
who was abused at St Joseph's children's home in Londonderry, said:
"When we met the Secretary of State and David Sterling last year,
we made clear that we expected urgent action to establish a redress
scheme which meets the needs of victims.

“But we also
put them on notice that Sir Anthony Hart's recommendations fall
some significant way short of victims' expectations.

"For instance,
Hart recommends a £7,500 standard payment with no account taken of
how many years were spent in an abusive environment, whereas we
believe £10,000 is a fairer starting point and that the length of
time spent in care should be factored into the
payment.

"We have
engaged in consultation with government officials in good faith
over recent months. We need assurances that government is listening
to survivors rather than simply cutting and pasting the, at times
flawed, recommendations from Sir Anthony Hart's
report."

Fellow survivor
and chairperson of victims' group Rosetta Trust Gerry McCann
welcomed Mr Sterling's move to get the issue sorted, with or
without a Stormont executive.

"But we don't
want a redress scheme and other measures which sell victims short
after the extent of suffering which so many have endured," he
added.

The report of
the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry was published in January
2017, just days after the collapse of power-sharing.

ANON Jan
26th, 2018 @ 03:30 PM

Man jailed
for sexually exploiting young girls on social media…

Dublin man
Matthew Horan, who sexually exploited girls as young as nine
through social media, has been jailed for nine and a half years,
with the final two years suspended.

Horan, from St
John's Crescent in Clondalkin, used Snapchat, Instagram, musical.ly
and Kik to ask young girls to send him sexually explicit videos and
pictures.

The 26-year-old
gathered thousands of images of the girls after obtaining them
through various apps.

In one case, he
threatened an 11-year-old that he would circulate naked pictures of
her to her friends if she refused to send him more.

He also
recorded video and audio conversations with the children on Skype,
including 60 videos of two nine-year-olds with whom he had
contact.

He was
convicted on charges of child exploitation involving 15 children
online and the distribution of child abuse images, among other
offences.

Sentencing
Horan, Judge Martin Nolan said to describe his actions as
"depraved" is an understatement.

He described
Horan as a person with a debased interest in sex and an "unhealthy
and insidious interest in children"; adding all of the crimes were
committed for his own "indulgence and pleasure".

Judge Nolan
said anyone who had listened to the evidence in relation to the
conversations he held online with children "could not but be
appalled" by their content.

He added that
Horan had "exploited children in a horrible way" which would have
long-terms effects on his victims and their families.

Judge Nolan
said Horan was an "inadequate" individual who was"incapable" of
forming normal relationships and who led an "introverted and lonely
life".

Referencing
mitigating circumstances put forward by his defence counsel, in
relation to his childhood and medical evidence of his being on the
autism spectrum, Judge

Nolan said
while taking all of this into account it "didn't mean he didn't
know what he was doing was wrong".

He sentenced
him to nine and a half years in prison, with the final two years
suspended.

Judge Nolan
said at some point in the future Horan would be released from
prison and he was seeking a report from the Probation Service as to
what type of intervention could take place while he is in prison to
"reform" him

ANON Jan
24th, 2018 @ 10:35 AM

HIA report:
Bishop urges action over abuse survivors…

The Catholic
Bishop of Derry has urged politicians to prioritise the
implementation of recommendations for survivors of institutional
abuse.

Bishop Donal
McKeown made the comments a year after the publication of a report
by the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry.

It made a
variety of recommendations including compensation, a memorial and a
public apology to abuse survivors.

These have not
been implemented since the collapse of devolution.

A fresh round
of political talks aimed at restoring devolution in Northern
Ireland is expected to begin on Wednesday,

Last December,
the head of the NI civil service wrote to victims explaining
payments would be open to legal challenge without ministerial
approval.

The HIA was
established to examine allegations of child abuse in children's
homes and other residential institutions in Northern Ireland from
1922 to 1995.

The inquiry,
which was chaired by Sir Anthony Hart, published its findings in
January 2017.

In a statement,
Bishop McKeown said the year-long absence of power sharing at
Stormont has "dashed" survivors hopes of redress as outlined in the
report.Image
caption

He added: "In
that time, more former residents of homes have died and others have
continued to suffer in different ways.

"Scars
inflicted in childhood affect people throughout their lives.
Families, spouses and children can also suffer.

"In the
upcoming talks, I encourage our political leaders to prioritise the
full implementation of the Hart recommendations.

"The needs of
the suffering are more important than anything else."Image caption
Clint Massey has been told he has only months to live

Last week,
Clint Massey, who suffered sexual abuse at a Belfast boys' home,
made an emotional plea for politicians to "stop
bickering".

Mr Massey
suffers from lung and brain cancer, and said he "wants to be here
when this is finally wrapped up.

ANON Jan
23rd, 2018 @ 06:38 PM

St John of
God order reports allegations against former principal to
Garda

The St John of
God order has said it has told the Garda Síochána about new
allegations of child abuse against a former school principal who
subsequently went to work with children in Africa.

Br Aidan
Clohessy was head of St Augustine’s, a school for boys with special
needs in Blackrock, Co Dublin, from 1970 until 1993, when he was
relocated to Malawi.

The first
serious child-abuse allegation was made against him in 1985; two
new claims by former St Augustine’s pupils emerged as late as this
week, a newspaper report said on Sunday.

The report
claimed that up to 20 allegations were made against Br Clohessy up
to 2014, and that when the State established the Residential
Institutions Redress Board, in 2002, payouts were made to Irish
accusers of Br Clohessy but he continued to work with children in
Africa after that time.

It also alleged
that he had converted a garage at his home to house boys who had
been on the streets.

Irish
journalists were brought to Mzuzu, Malawi’s third-largest city, in
2010 to see the work of the Tipperary-born brother, who had
established an array of mental and other health services for some
of the most vulnerable people there, including
prisoners.

The St John of
God Order said in a statement: “While the order cannot comment on
individual cases or on cases arising from unsubstantiated
reporting, it is responding in accordance with its safeguarding
policies and procedures and has reported the allegations to the
relevant authorities and will co-operate as required.”

The order said
it was reviewed in Ireland by the National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church in December 2015 and had fully
co-operated.

“Up to 2012,
the order fully accepts that its responses were not what they
should have been in the reporting and management of
cases.”

All the
allegations reviewed by the safeguarding board were reported to the
Garda Síochána and Tusla, the

"The St John of
God Order reiterates its unreserved apology to any individual who
has suffered any form of abuse while in its care,” the statement
said.

The order added
that it had “endeavoured to respond to and appropriately support
any individual who has been hurt during their time in the care of
the order” and that it “would urge anyone who may have suffered
abuse or who has a concern to come forward, or to contact the
relevant authorities”

ANON Jan
18th, 2018 @ 02:13 PM

Paedophile
Eamon Cooke died of lung cancer, inquest hears…

Gardaí spoke to
Cooke before his death in relation to disappearance of Phillip
CairnsConvicted
paedophile Eamon Cooke died of lung cancer, an inquest has
heard.

Cooke was an
inmate at Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin 7 when his health
deteriorated and he was transferred to a hospice for palliative
care.

Dublin
Coroner’s Court heard evidence of medical records at an inquest
into his death.

An inquest is a
legal obligation for any prisoner’s death.

Cooke was seen
at the Mater Hospital in May 2016 and was transferred for
palliative care to St Francis Hospice in Raheny.

Gardaí spoke to
Cooke at the hospice before his death in relation to Phillip
Cairns, the 13-year-old who disappeared 30 years ago while walking
to school in Dublin.

Cooke died at
the hospice on June 5th, 2016.

The former
radio DJ was a serial paedophile.

The cause of
his death was cancer of the lung which had spread, Coroner Dr Myra
Cullinane said.

The jury at his
inquest returned the verdict of death due to natural
causes.

ANON Jan
18th, 2018 @ 02:09 PM

Londonderry:
Teacher denies sexual abuse of girls…

A 59-year-old
music teacher from Londonderry has pleaded not guilty to sexually
abusing five girls under the age of 13.

Brian Bergin
from Brookhill in Culmore, who is self-employed, appeared in
Londonderry Crown Court on Tuesday.

He faces 10
charges of engaging in sexual activity with five school girls while
in a position of trust.

It is alleged
the father of three committed the offences between August 2011 and
May 2014.

The defence
barrister said some of the complaints were reported by parents and
others by teachers.

He added, that
due to the number of witnesses, the trial is expected to last for
two weeks.

The case was
adjourned until 30 January when a trial date will be
fixed.Bergin was
released on continuing bail.

ANON Jan
15th, 2018 @ 06:32 PM

Ex-headmaster spared jail
for sexual abuse of boy (15)…

A disgraced
former headmaster who was honoured by the Queen for his services to
young people has been spared jail after admitting sexually abusing
a 15-year-old boy.

In August 2016,
retired John Coatman (76), was found guilty of gross indecency with
a member of a youth group he was involved with in the
1970s.

His conviction
was thrown out by the Court of Appeal last April, because of an
error on the charge sheet put before the jury.

When the case
returned to the Old Bailey for a retrial last month, Coatman
pleaded guilty to an amended charge of indecent
assault.

Coatman, of
Leyburn Gardens, Croydon, south London, was sentenced by Judge Anne
Molyneux to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two
years.

He was also
made subject to a 12-month supervision order.

The court heard
that the teenager would visit Coatman's home, where they would
engage in "rough and tumble" "play fighting", which later took a
sexual turn as the adult touched the boy over his
clothes.

Matters
escalated when the pair undressed in Coatman's bedroom and the head
teacher touched his "younger charge" sexually on three
occasions.

The defendant
was head teacher of St Andrew's secondary school in Croydon, but
the complainant was not a pupil at the school, the court heard.
Coatman retired in 1998 after 42 years and was awarded an MBE in
2012.

Prosecutor Mark
Trafford QC, told the Old Bailey:

"The
defendant's MBE for services to young people was something that he
(the complainant) found difficult to comprehend under the
circumstances."

Claims against
Coatman, who has an inoperable cancer, surfaced in
2014.

In a victim
impact statement, the complainant said the incidents had left him
with emotional difficulties in his later life, and he also suffered
from depression.

Sentencing
Coatman, Ms Molyneux said: "You were in a position of considerable
trust, and he (the complainant) trusted you.

He enjoyed
being with you over a short period of time."

ANON Jan
12th, 2018 @ 01:11 PM

Magdalene
Laundries and Mother and Baby Home survivors needed for academic
investigation…

Survivors of
Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes in the North are
being encouraged to come forward and share their experience with a
working group investigating the institutions.

Academics from
Queen’s University in Belfast and Ulster University will spend a
year examining the institutions’ operation between 1922 and
1999.

They will
interview former residents and comb government and institutional
records.

It is claimed
that, as recently as the 1980s, new-born babies were being forcibly
taken from their mothers and given up for adoption by nuns in the
North’s laundries, women forced into homes in Belfast and Newry
after becoming pregnant.

A working group
overseeing the review is chaired by Norah Gibbons but campaigners
have called for a full public inquiry.

“It is
essential that we develop a strong evidence base about the
operation of these institutions in the last century,” said Ms
Gibbons.

“The research
will not only look at historical records. Critically, it will also
involve listening to and collating the accounts of women who
resided in mother and baby homes or worked in Magdalene
laundries.”

Her
inter-departmental group was established at the end of February
last year following a request from Stormont ministers to
investigate historical abuse at the homes.

Eunan Duffy,
who was born in the Marian Vale mother and baby home said a full
public inquiry is needed immediately.

“There are
people dying off on a regular basis waiting for justice in whatever
form that comes,” he said. “All this is doing is kicking the can
down the road.”

The publication
of the McAleese Report into the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland 2013
resulted in a State apology by Enda Kenny in 2013.

However, the
report and the subsequent redress scheme have since come in for
severe criticism.

An
investigation of the redress scheme by the Office of the Ombudsman,
published in November, found the Department of Justice failed to
examine all available evidence when it wrongly refused some
Magdalene laundry survivors access to redress payments

ANON Jan
11th, 2018 @ 12:22 PM

Mother and
baby home abuse research commissioned…

Research is to
be carried out into the operation of former mother and baby homes
and Magdalene laundries in NI.

The research
will be carried out by academics from Queen's University and Ulster
University and is expected to take 12 months.

It will cover
the period 1922 to 1999.

The
announcement follows a decision by the former NI executive to look
at institutions not looked at in the Historical Institutional Abuse
(HIA) inquiry.

The Department
of Health has commissioned the research.

It will speak
to those with direct experience of the various institutions and
also examine government and institutional records.

Norah Gibbons,
the chair of an inter-departmental working group established by the
former executive, welcomed the news.

"It is
essential that we develop a strong evidence base about the
operation of these institutions in the last century," she
said.

Patrick
Corrigan, from Amnesty International in Northern Ireland, said that
the group would be "concerned" if the research was an alternative
to an investigation.

"Norah Gibbons
and the working group need to meet with victims from these
institutions so that they can directly hear and heed their calls,"
he said.

ANON Jan
11th, 2018 @ 12:19 PM

The
Hyponatraemia Inquiry was set up in 2004 - its publication has been
delayed several times....

A solicitor for
one of the families said that once the inquiry publishes its
findings they will consider asking the police to investigate the
whistleblower's claims.

They died in
hospitals between 1995 and 2001.The inquiry is
due to publish its findings at the end of the month, 13 years after
it was first established.

The
whistleblower's claims have been published on the Hyponatraemia
Public Inquiry Website as part of correspondence between its chair
and the directorate of legal services.

The
whistleblower, who works for the Western Health Trust, raised
questions over searches of a premises in the Western Health and
Social Services Board in 2004.

The findings of
the Health and Social Care Board's internal inquiry, published on
Wednesday, was that there was no evidence to suggest that
information had been deliberately removed or that searches had not
been carried out adequately.

The family of
Raychel Ferguson is one of those questioning those
findings.

Raychel died
after being administered with a lethal dose of intravenous fluids
in 2001.

Des Doherty,
the family's solicitor, said they firmly believed the board's
investigation was "without merit" and that the family remained of
the view that there had been an attempt to cover-up the
truth.

A spokesperson
for the Health and Social Care Board said a full and thorough
investigation had been carried out, which found no evidence to
support claims of any "deliberate attempt to remove evidence" or
"any deliberate attempts to destroy evidence or
equipment".

A spokesperson
also said that the board was confident that no evidence was
withheld from the inquiry.

ANON Jan
8th, 2018 @ 06:01 PM

Child Sex
Offender...

A child sex
offender from Co Antrim has been jailed in England for a sustained
campaign in which he approach thousands of boys online in a bid to
get them to send him indecent images of themselves.

Patrick
McDonald (23), from Crumlin, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years
in prison at Reading Crown Court following a National Crime Agency
(NCA) investigation.

Speaking at the
court on Friday, Judge Grainger said McDonald had targeted
"thousands of children", adding: "The scale of the offending was
breathtaking."

The NCA is
working with the police to identify and safeguard the children
targeted by McDonald, who was also placed on the sex offender's
register for life and put under an indefinite sexual harm
prevention order.

If they replied
to his first approach, McDonald would quickly begin sending sexual
messages including explicit pictures of women's
bodies.

He incited a
number of children to send him indecent pictures of themselves and
in many cases to engage in sexual activity.

Following
McDonald's arrest he admitted to NCA officers he had offended
against at least 500 victims, though the real number is believed to
be higher.

He pleaded
guilty last year to making indecent images of children and inciting
children to engage in sexual acts. The NCA has found no evidence
that McDonald committed contact offences.

Martin Ludlow,
operations manager at the NCA, said: "We have identified and
brought to justice a prolific offender who has exploited the trust
of many, many children.

"In cases like
these, their welfare is our paramount consideration.

"We and our
partners remain determined to take action against criminals who
exploit online tools and apps to abuse children.

"Information
and guidance for children and young people from five to 18 on
staying safe online and in the physical world, as well as
information for parents and teachers, is available on our dedicated
website www.thinkuknow.co.uk.

"Anyone who is
concerned that someone is in immediate danger should call
999.

ANON Jan
7th, 2018 @ 11:06 AM

A THOUGHT
FOR TODAY...

"There are many
former and present paedophile clerical sexual abusers like
paedophile O’Grady within Catholic Church and it is up to the
people to expose them,

This letter
that has been written by a cleric means nothing if the Catholic
Church continues to cover up the Horrific Sexual Abuse perpetrated
on innocent children within the their ranks and their various place
where they come into contact with children

"PLEASE DO NOT
LET IT BE A CASE OF "AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE THERE IS MORE SAID
THAN DONE"

Let us reject
the present policy of the Catholic Church “OMERTA”

ANON Jan
6th, 2018 @ 11:55 AM

(1)...Bishop
warns former US paedophile priest “actively seeking victims” in
Ireland…Oliver O'Grady,
still from "Deliver Us from Evil".

The Bishop of
Waterford and Lismore has warned the public in his that former
priest and convicted pedophile, Oliver O’Grady, is living largely
unsupervised in their community and “actively seeking
victims”.

In his letter,
sent on Dec 21, to priests and schools in the area Bishop Alphonsus
Cullinan warned the community to be “aware that this man continues
to be an evil menace to innocent children".

O’Grady (71), a
former cleric who served in the California from 1973 onward, has
served seven years of a 14-year sentence in the US for the sexual
abuse of two brothers over a ten-year period.

In 2001 he was
deported to Ireland and in 2010 he was found to be volunteering in
Rotterdam, Holland, in a Catholic parish under the pseudonym
“Brother Francis”.

That year
images of the sexual abuse of children were found on his laptop and
he was sentenced to three years in prison by the courts in
2012.

ANON Jan
6th, 2018 @ 11:52 AM

(2)...Evil
menace to innocent children…In his recent
letter, Bishop Cullinan warned the people of Ireland that O’Grady
is “actively seeking victims in our midst”. He attached a
photograph of O’Grady.

TheJournal.ie,
who have seen the letter, reported that the Bishop had been updated
on the day he wrote the letter of “recent activities” of
O’Grady.

He warned that
it was important “to be aware that this man continues to be an evil
menace to innocent children”.

He continued
“Please advise your safeguarding representatives and all your
parish groups, especially those working in any way with children,
to be aware that this man continues to be an evil menace to
innocent children.

“If this man is
seen in your parish please notify [the] Bishop’s House as soon as
possible.”

A spokesperson
for the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore said Cullinan sent the
letter to the catholic primary schools, as well as the clergy of
the diocese, as patron of the Catholic schools in Waterford and
Lismore.

Fr Liam Power
told the Irish Independent the matter was immediately referred to
Gardaí (police) and Tusla (the child and family agency) when the
Bishop became aware of it.

ANON Jan
6th, 2018 @ 11:50 AM

(3)...Deliver Us from
Evil”…

In 2005 O’Grady
was interviewed for the documentary “Deliver Us from Evil”. He
openly discussed his predilection for children and compared these
feelings to those for adults.

In this clip,
which some may find disturbing, he discusses his attraction to
children:Clerical abuse
survivor and former member of the Vatican's Commission for the
Protection of Minors,

Marie Collins
commended the Bishop for sending his letter.

She told the
Independent "While it is good to see the bishop issuing this
warning and passing on his concerns to gardaí, I would ask who is
monitoring this very dangerous pedophile? As Mr O'Grady is no
longer a priest, it is not likely that responsibility would lie
with the Church.

Are the civil
authorities taking any action to ensure the children of the area
are being properly safeguarded?"

Collins
expressed concern about the "many other men who have abused
children, served their sentence and now live among
us".

According to
RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster, O’Grady is believed to be
complying with the terms of his sentence and has informed Gardai of
where he lives.

He is not
currently under investigation.

O’Grady is on
the Sex Offenders Register, which means that he must inform Gardaí
of where he resides, or if he moves house.

If a person on
the sex offenders list fails to comply with these rules, they could
face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to
€10,000.

ANON Jan
6th, 2018 @ 11:47 AM

Concerns
have been expressed over the lack of supervision of a notorious
paedophile former priest whom the Catholic Bishop of Waterford and
Lismore has warned is "extremely dangerous" and is "actively
seeking victims".

Clerical abuse
survivor Marie Collins paid tribute to Bishop Phonsie Cullinan for
a letter he sent to priests and schools in his diocese just before
Christmas about convicted paedophile Oliver O'Grady, who is living
in Waterford city.

In the letter,
Dr Cullinan attached a photo of the former cleric who served in the
US and said he had informed gardaí of his recent activities in the
locality.

He asked the
letter's recipients to advise all parish groups, especially those
working in any way with children, to be "aware that this man
continues to be an evil menace to innocent children".

Speaking to the
Irish Independent, Ms Collins, a survivor of clerical abuse and
former member of the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of
Minors, commended Bishop Cullinan.

"While it is
good to see the bishop issuing this warning and passing on his
concerns to gardaí, I would ask who is monitoring this very
dangerous paedophile?

As Mr O'Grady
is no longer a priest, it is not likely that responsibility would
lie with the Church. Are the civil authorities taking any action to
ensure the children of the area are being properly safeguarded?"
she queried.

Ms Collins also
expressed concern about the "many other men who have abused
children, served their sentence and now live among
us".

A spokesman for
the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore told the Irish Independent
that Dr Cullinan sent the letter to the catholic primary schools,
as well as the clergy of the diocese, as patron of the Catholic
schools in Waterford and Lismore, "for whom he has a duty of care,
especially for the children".

According to Fr
Liam Power, as a child safeguarding matter, it was immediately
referred to Gardaí and Tusla when the Bishop became aware of
it.

O'Grady (71)
served seven years of a 14-year sentence in the US following his
conviction for the sexual abuse of two brothers over a 10-year
period when one was as young as three.

He was deported
to Ireland in 2001 and in 2010 he was discovered volunteering under
a pseudonym 'Brother Francis' at a Catholic parish in
Rotterdam.

That same year
his laptop was discovered with sexual abuse images of children as
young as two. He was handed a three-year sentence by the courts in
2012

ANON Jan
6th, 2018 @ 11:42 AM

Man, 21,
charged with raping child relative…A man aged 21
was arrested yesterday in Cork city and charged with raping a
child, related to him.

Detective Garda
Eimear Brennan arrested the man at his home before 8am and brought
him before Cork District Court later in the day.

The accused was
told he could reply to each of the six charges brought against him
but that anything he might say would be written down and could be
given in evidence in court.

He made no
reply to any of the charges.

The charges
cover a period between November 2011 and June 2016.

The first
charge stated that he raped the girl at his home in Cork. There are
three further rape charges against the defendant in respect of the
same complainant.

There are two
charges of sexually assaulting the same girl.

No details of
the alleged offences were given yesterday in court.

Det Garda
Brennan said the prosecution had no objection to the defendant
being remanded on bail, provided certain conditions were
applied.

Those
conditions included that he would sign on at his local Garda
station three times a week between 9am and 9pm.

He is also
required to live at home and notify Det Garda Brennan 48 hours in
advance if there is to be any change of address.

He is required
not to interfere with any of the State witnesses in the case. He
must surrender his passport and give an undertaking not to apply
for travel documents.

The defendant
is working but, because of his relatively low wages and the
seriousness of the charges, Judge Olann Kelleher agreed to an
application for him to be represented by Frank Buttimer on free
legal aid.

Inspector John
Deasy said the DPP had directed trial by indictment on all
charges.

The case was
put back until February 14 to allow time for preparation of a book
of evidence.

Once that is
completed, the case will be sent forward to the Central Criminal
Court.The case was
dealt with at an in-camera hearing yesterday at the courthouse on
Washington St, Cork, where the defendant’s parents were present, as
were members of the complainant’s family.

The identity of
parties in the case cannot be published for legal
reasons.

ANON Jan
5th, 2018 @ 01:46 PM

US man in
Newry court on charges of abusing child…

A man with an
address in the United States has appeared in court in Northern
Ireland accused of raping a child.

John Dunn (50),
who is from South Carolina but was bailed to an address in
Dundonald, is further accused of intentionally inciting the child
to engage in sexual activity.

The offences
are alleged to have occurred on a date between March 13, 2014 and
March 17, 2015.

At Newry
Magistrates Court Dunn was remanded on £500 bail and ordered to
have no contact with the victim or her family, nor is he to have
any unsupervised contact with anyone aged under 16 without the
approval of social services.

He was also
ordered to report with police three times per week and surrender
his passport, visa and travel documents.

Dunn has also
been banned from entering Co Down entirely, except for court
appearances, and when doing so he must travel directly there and
back via the A1.

The case is due
back in court next month

ANON Jan
4th, 2018 @ 02:21 PM

Victims of
paedophile sports coach Bill Kenneally have demanded that a stalled
inquiry into his case be fast-tracked by the
Government.

The plea by
victims of the Waterford-based coach has already garnered
significant support on social media. A video by Jason Clancy asking
for the stalled inquiry to be immediately opened generated some
137,000 views on Facebook.

Kenneally (66)
was jailed for 14 years in February 2016 for indecent assaults
against 10 teenage boys in Waterford in the 1980s.

However,
Kenneally admitted to gardaí he estimated he had molested around 20
teens, though he only agreed to name two.

The victims
involved in the Waterford Circuit Criminal Court prosecution said
they believe far more teens were involved. They also said they
believe Kenneally's abuse involved a period earlier than the
1984-87 time-frame involved in the conviction.

Victims of
Kenneally launched the campaign to fasttrack the inquiry amid fears
it could be delayed for years due to unnecessary legal
concerns.

While former
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald appointed retired Circuit Court Judge
Barry Hickson to head the proposed inquiry, it was subsequently
stalled amid concerns it could interfere with an ongoing criminal
investigation and an appeal against severity of sentence lodged by
Kenneally. That appeal has yet to be concluded.

Mr Clancy said
there was no reason why the promised inquiry shouldn't
proceed."It is clear
that an inquiry hearing would be totally irrelevant to any appeal
against severity of sentence.

They are
totally unrelated," he said.

"In respect of
any ongoing criminal investigations by the gardaí, we have been
assured by our legal advisers that the inquiry would not have any
impact there either," Mr Clancy said.

The
investigation into Kenneally's abuse of young boys was triggered
when Mr Clancy contacted gardaí to lodge a complaint in
2012.

Kenneally was
jailed for 14 years as Judge Eugene O'Kelly described his actions
as indicative of a systematic, predatory paedophile.

Four of his
victims, who waived their anonymity to speak out about "that beast
of a man", offered reassurance to others.

Mr Clancy
insisted the full truth about what happened must now come
out.

Victims have
also demanded answers as to how Kenneally could remain involved
with Irish sports clubs for 26 years after he first made verbal
admissions to gardaí about indecent behaviour.

ANON Jan
4th, 2018 @ 02:13 PM

1/2...Expert: Tuam DNA
tests can be used at mother and baby home…

A genetics
expert said modern forensics could be used to test for DNA at the
Tuam mother and baby home site.

A report by the
expert technical group on the site said the cost of DNA testing
could be an issue when it comes to examining any
remains.

Last week,
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone aired other concerns such
as how extracting DNA can damage remains.

However,
professor of population genetics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD),
Dan Bradley considered the country’s leading expert said it was
possible to test for DNA there.

“With samples,
we’ve worked on there was no way we can work out a meaningful
relative, but these [the Tuam] samples are different.

“Modern
technologies are very powerful for working with these samples. The
cost is thousands, it’s not millions. But is it possible? It could
be, from what I know,” said Prof Bradley.

His lab has
worked on several hundred human and animal specimens and while
accepting “you can never predict the outcome”, he said the success
rate in Ireland, for extracting DNA, is quite high.

“The only way
to know if you’ll get DNA is to test it. We’ve tested samples and
got nothing. Generally speaking in Ireland, with samples, we’ve had
a success rate of three out of four,” said Prof
Bradley.

The report by
the Tuam technical group also said the best samples for DNA
purposes were from teeth which were not adequately developed in
children under the age of two.

ANON Jan
4th, 2018 @ 02:10 PM

2/2...However, Prof Bradley
said there is a better bone from which to extract DNA.

“The best bone
to use is the petrous bone which contains the inner ear and is
attached to the skull. This can work with children. Teeth are also
good for DNA but the petrous bone is five times better,” he
said.

Speaking
specifically about the cost of DNA testing, which is now done
through what is known as next-generation sequencing, the expert
said the expense has dropped considerably since it was first
developed.

“Before 2000,
the first human genome was sequenced for approximately €200m and it
took years. Now a human genome can be sequenced for, say, thousands
of euro and in a couple of months,” said the
professor.

Two years ago,
Prof Bradley and colleagues at TCD and Queen’s University Belfast,
published research after sequencing the first genomes from ancient
Irish people.

One of them was
a 5,200-year-old farming woman.

“We have
research projects here in our lab where we have got whole genomes
from specimens that go back 10,000 years. So it is possible to
extract DNA going back a century,” said Prof Bradley.

However, when
it comes to Tuam, he said there are factors other than the age of
bones that matter.

The chemistry
of the soil has an effect on the bones. Whether the soil is
water-logged is another factor.

David MacHugh,
professor of genomics at UCD, has also spoken about
Tuam.

“I am perplexed
by the hesitancy in applying modern forensic genomics to genetic
identification of the skeletal material found at the Tuam mother
and baby home,” he wrote in a letter in the Irish Times
yesterday.